Zucchini Muffins

 



First off, the focus is off on a lot of these pictures. I'm thinking I might need glasses. Second, these muffins are awesome. I got the recipe from Simply Recipes, a great source for good recipes.

 



Our zucchini plant seemed to take all Summer to produce. Now it's producing like crazy!

 

Start by grating the zucchini. If you are using an especially giant one like I did, cut out the center seedy and spongy parts and discard.

 

 

Put the grated zucchini into a strainer and press out the excess liquid.

 



 

In a large bowl mix together the sugar, eggs and vanilla.

 



 

Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter.

 

 

Instead of putting the dry ingredients into a separate bowl, I simply sifted them on top of the wet ingredients and stirred until combined. I was making the muffins for a bunch of kiddos so I chose not to add in nuts or raisins.

 

The directions say to completely fill the muffin cups. I did that and managed to make only 12 muffins. Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

 

Here they are. They puffed up beautifully.

 

They were also dense. Do you see how the rack bows in the middle? Yowza. I expected them to be so dense that they would sit like rocks in the tummy. They didn't. Very much like zucchini bread, these muffins were fabulous. I'll definitely make them again.

 

Zucchini Muffins

 

Ingredients:

 

3 c. grated fresh zucchini

2/3 c melted unsalted butter

1 1/3 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 t. vanilla

2 t. baking soda

pinch of salt

3 c. flour

2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1 c. walnuts (optional)

1 c. raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

 

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in the walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

 

Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce bake when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 4 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and let cool another 20 minutes.